Advocacy Monthly - Summer 2024

House and Senate Vacancy and Primary Updates

From New Jersey to California, we’ve had a lot of vacancies and special elections lately:

·       Rep. Vince Fong (R) was seated on June 3rd after a May 21st special election to fill the vacancy in the California 20th District created by the resignation of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

·       Rep. Michael Rulli (R) was seated on June 25th after a June 11th special election to fill the vacancy in the Ohio 6th District created by the resignation of former Rep. Bill Johnson.

·       The special election to fill the Colorado 4th District seat represented by former Rep. Ken Buck happened on June 25th. Representative-elect Greg Lopez (R) was seated on July 8th to fill the remainder of this term in Congress. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R) won the district’s Republican Party primary for the next Congress, after opting to run in the 4th District, instead of in her current seat in the Colorado 3rd District.

·       Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D- TX-18) passed away on July 19, 2024, creating a vacancy. A special election will occur on November 5th, 2024 to fill the duration of Lee’s term, at which point it will be taken by the winner of the general election.

·       Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-9) passed away on August 21st, 2024, creating a vacancy. As of this time, Governor Phil Murphy has not opted to call a special election.

·       Sen. Bob Menendez resigned his seat on August 20, 2024. George Helmy (D) was named the senator designate. Rep. Andy Kim (D) is currently running for the seat in the general election.

·       On June 25th, George Latimer, the Westchester County Executive, defeated Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the Democratic primary for the New York 16th District, after a campaign which saw the most spending ever in a House primary. Rep. Cori Bush was similarly defeated on August 6th by Wesley Bell in the Democratic Primary for Missouri’s 1st District. These primary elections mark two instances of members of the so called “Squad” being ousted before the general election.

·       In the Virginia 5th Congressional District Republican Primary, State Sen. John McGuire beat Rep. Bob Good, the Chair of the House Freedom Caucus, by 374 votes. Rep. Good’s campaign financed a recount which occurred on Aug. 1 and confirmed McGuire’s victory.